Current mood:	lethargic
Entry tags:	kdrama: city hunter, tv: kdrama

Too. Many. Words.
Sungkyungkwan Scandal
Last weekend I had some family obligations that involved two car trips that were on average 8 hours each. So I converted six episodes of this drama and put on my phone. About 20 minutes into the first episode I realized just how monumental a mistake I had made. Only six episodes?! What was I thinking?!

Loved the story, the setting, the characters. The only thing that fell kind of flat for me was the 'ship. Which is why I grew less and less invested in the show the more they focused on them. Still, a good, solid drama that I'd definitely recommend.


Coffee House
I watched this yesterday, and when I got to the end of episode 11 I just couldn't bring myself to continue. I'm so totally on Team Jin Soo/Eun Young that I'm dreading what will happen next.

I can't figure out what the writers are doing with this drama. Are they really setting up a male lead/female second lead 'ship, with female lead-male lead having a brother-sister relationship? Because if so, I'll keep watching. Gladly. But having the leads end up together feels very squicky to me right now. Sure, she might be crushing on him a bit, but the power dynamics of that relationship are so off-the-charts inappropriate for romantic development it's not even funny.

I think I'll put this (haha, I just accidentally typed "shit". Um, it contains the same letters...? Oh, subconscious, you always know what I'm thinking.) on hold for a few days while I maybe (possibly) spoil myself. Or steel myself. Whichever.


Heartstrings
So, I was not really enjoying this drama for the first six episodes, but then episode 7 came along and said: "Hey, you know all those things you're hating about the show? Let me start fixing that for you." I'm actually enjoying it now! And I've got 'ship investment! This is awesome! Why couldn't I have had this all along? That's what I'd like to know.

Bring on Wednesday Thursday!


Myung Wol the Spy
My interest was piqued by the first two episodes, but with episodes three and four it felt like they were going off on a tangent and getting lost about what they were doing. Which led me to thinking okay... I guess I can keep going, it's not like I don't need something to fill the City Hunter-shaped hole in my heart (even if it takes five or six dramas to fill that hole)...

Then episodes five and six were all about getting things back on track. Of course the best way of making him fall is to let Myung Wol be herself. He couldn't help but be intrigued and impressed with the real her, this should have been the plan from the very start. I was a very happy fangirl. And then! The final scene! What. The. Hell, you guys? Did he really just do that? Why did he really just do that?! If this doesn't turn out to be something he staged for the fans or if there isn't something really good coming up, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to forgive this drama for having him strike her like that. Ugh, make it better, writers!


Scent of a Woman
Lordy, how pretty! I was totally going to ask if this was filmed with the Dr. Champ camera, but then typicrobots mentioned it on Tumblr, so I guess it was? This is how all dramas should be filmed. I don't care how much that camera costs, IT'S WORTH IT. It makes everything better. It even makes the cancer plot bearable.

The cancer is really what I'm dreading here. I don't want to watch a drama about death and depressing stuff, dramas are my happy place! I'm willing to put up with it this time because literally EVERYTHING else about this drama makes it look like it'll be awesome.

I'm pretty sure I'd even forgive them for a miracle cure or for a clichéd "oops, we misread the MRI/X-ray/blood work and you don't really have cancer!" ending. But I'm bracing myself for suffering and death all the same.

The worst part about this drama is finding subs fast. Anyone have any suggestions? I can't watch it on ViKi (not available in my region) and DarkSmurf takes kind of a long time (ugh, I've been so spoiled by how fast the City Hunter subs come out). I've found a MegaUpload folder for ViKi softsubs (here), but for the life of me I can't figure out where to find links of softsubs from ViKi itself. Does anyone know?


City Hunter
Despite the fact that it fizzled a bit towards the end, this is one of my favorite dramas ever. It may even have taken the top spot if a) they had kept the tone more even throughout, and b) I didn't have such ridiculous amounts of affection for Coffee Prince as my first ever drama.

The most interesting part of the last quarter of the drama was definitely the prosecutor. I haven't really taken to the character, mostly due to his decision to abandon Kim Na Na to her fate in episode 8 while he went off after Seo Yong Hak. After all, he had NO reason to trust the City Hunter at that point. And to be honest, it doesn't even look as if he's counting on him saving Na Na, it's more as if he's trying to get to Seo Yong Hak first. I just couldn't understand because if Na Na falls, her death will be irrevocable. If Seo Yong Hak escapes...you can catch him later?

But I think I finally get it. Because that scene is what lays the groundwork for his sacrifice. It shows that (misguided or not), he values justice more than life itself. And when he sends Yoon Sung that text message he makes a conscious decision to sacrifice himself so that the truth will come out and justice will be done.

And in contrast we have Yoon Sung, who learns (or at least solidifies in his own mind) that revenge - his own brand of justice - isn't worth it if the price is too high. In his case that means the lives of innocents/good people. (And I think the reason he doesn't hesitate to point the gun at his own head or jump in the bullet's path is that he doesn't necessarily consider himself either of those things. He's an instrument, and he will use his body and brain accordingly.)

That's why his nightmare could never come true - Na Na is both innocent and good, so he could never kill her, no matter what. His nightmare was more about his fear of letting his own good sense being taken over by his father's twisted way of thinking. But when he fell for Na Na, he learned to trust his inner voice, so even at the time he had the nightmare, the possibility of it coming true was becoming ever more remote.

I also like how the contrast of the two scenes highlights the differences in Jin Pyo's and Na Na's roles in Yoon Sung's life. In his nightmare, his father stands in the shadows and tries to poison his mind. In reality, Na Na lightens his burden by taking the very tough decision of shooting his own father out of his hands.

I'm saddened by how much they sidelined Kim Na Na in the end, but she remains awesome and one of my favorite female characters ever. Now we just need a season 2 where she and Yoon Sung fight corruption side by side and I'll be a happy camper.

As for the ending, I'm not even sure what to think besides: NEEDS. MOAR. MAKEOUTS.

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I just saw this on Tumblr and I ordered it right away:



Framing it and putting in my hallway! Yay, I've been all indecisive about what to put on my walls there. Now I've got a start!